Hispanic culture course helps North American priests and seminarians to improve their Spanish-language skills and cultural knowledge so they can better serve the Hispanic community.

by Catholic.net Staff Writer | Source: Catholic.net

For the past several years, the Sacerdos Institute has organized the Curso de Hispanidad (Hispanic Ministry Course) as a means of giving diocesan seminarians and priests an intensive introduction to the Spanish language and Hispanic culture.

Course participants spend 7 weeks immersed in studies and cultural experiences, including pastoral ministry, in Mexico. This past year, the priests and seminarians stayed at La Casa San José, owned by the Oblates of Jesus the Priest, in Santa Ursula Xitla, Tlalpan, and Mexico City. Their Spanish classes were held on campus at the Anahuac University’s south campus.

The course began this past June 14 and ended on August 1, directed by Br Juan Pablo Durán, LC, with the support of Fr José LaBoy, LC, as chaplain.

The participants had 5 hours of Spanish class each day, but they also got out of the classroom with their teachers to visit cultural sites such as the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Coyocán and the Monastery of the Desert of the Lions.

Weekends included additional cultural outings: the Historic Center of Mexico City, the Museum of Anthropology, the pyramids Teotihuacán, Acolman, Xochimilco, and missions in Malinalco.

On Tuesday afternoons, speakers came to talk about topics relevant to pastoral ministry such as: The Family and Hispanics in the US, Popular Religiosity; the Guadalupe Event; and the Current Situation of Mexico and Latin America.

The course also offered two afternoons of pastoral work in the parish of St. Ursula Xitla, where they were able to put their new knowledge to work.

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